﻿Co-Directors' Report

4/11/16

We are delighted that this newsletter is full of information about the wonderful happenings at the Oregon Writing Project Collaborative at George Fox University. With strong support from George Fox, our Writing Project site has been able to offer two annual Institutes in the Teaching of Writing, we are eagerly anticipating the summer launch of four Young Writers Camps, and we are excited about the opportunities now made possible with GFU’s new Continuing Education credit structure.

Now that we feel well established with central pieces in place, we would like to bring together interested Writing Project teachers to talk about directions, opportunities, and dreams for growing the site into the future. We originally hoped to meet on May 7th, but found that date was difficult for a lot of teachers. So instead, we are including a Doodle poll in this newsletter to let teachers tell us what date works best for you. Please find that link at http://doodle.com/poll/camc8225xkm8pr63. We hope that you will consider joining us for this conversation. We are looking to bring together a group of around 15 teachers. OWPC will provide lunch. This will be a broad and open conversation intended as time to think and talk together about what brought you to the Writing Project, who else should be involved and in what ways, where might we connect with partners to support this work, and what types of involvement are most needed for teachers now and for the next few years. We look forward to talking with you.

Please enjoy this issue of the newsletter. If you have questions, suggestions, or would like to reconnect and get involved, please contact either Susanna or Karen at the email and phone numbers below.

﻿Summer Institute Registrations Open Now!

4/11/16

It’s hard to believe, but summer is just around the corner! Registration for the OWPC’s Summer Institute is in full swing. A number of teachers have already committed two weeks of their summer to collaboration, learning, and writing. This summer’s institute will be held at Broadway Commons in Salem beginning July 23 and ending August 5. Do you want to participate? Register now!

Do you know of a teaching colleague who would benefit from this incredible experience? Send them the website link or nominate them. We look forward to another amazing institute!

﻿﻿Young Writers Camps Coming This Summer

4/11/16

Registrations are already coming in for the first Young Writers camps offered by the OWPC at George Fox. Four camps for students entering seventh through twelfth grades will be held fully online and one for younger students will be held in person in Newberg.

The first camp of the summer, C3 Camp: Create, Code, and Compose, provides a chance for incoming third through fifth graders to focus on engineering, computer code, and writing. The camp, running June 20-24 in a Newberg location, will focus on experimentation, hands-on experience, and learning how things work.

The second camp begins a week later, running June 27 through July 1, with a second camp running August 1-5. The Oregon Battle of the Books Summer Writing camp is for avid readers who are familiar with this year’s OBOB selections. This fully online camp will allow students entering grades 7 through 9 to connect with like-minded storytellers while improving their writing skills.

Superheroes for a Cause: Build Essential Writing Skills While Being a Champion in Your Community runs fully online from July 11 through July 22. This camp is for students entering grades 9 through 12 to choose and research a cause, participate in online discussions and online editing, and produce and publish a polished essay.

Finally, Writing Creative Nonfiction Essays: Featuring College Applications is for students entering grades 10 and 11, running July 11 through July 29. This fully online guided writing workshop will support students through the process of writing college application essays and scholarship essays.

﻿﻿OWPC Poet to Read in Salem

4/11/16

Oregon Writing Project Collaborative poet Lois Rosen will read her works with the Peregrine Poets of Salem in honor of National Poetry Month. The reading will take place at the Salem Public Library in Anderson Room B at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 21. The readers include Eleanor Berry, Marilyn Johnson, Stephanie Lenox, Ada Molinoff, Lois Rosen, Penina Taeseli, Colette Tennant, and Dina Triest. Please consider coming to support your OWPC colleague and enjoy some poetry.

﻿﻿Continuing Education Opportunities Available

4/11/16

For the first time George Fox University is offering continuing education credits. These graduate credits are non-degree applicable but can be used for license renewal or to advance on the salary schedule within school districts.

The Oregon Writing Project Collaborative is pleased to partner with Donna Webb, Assistant Professor of Education at George Fox University, to offer Advancing STEM Through ED, a weeklong workshop held in Wilsonville, August 8-12. This workshop for third and fourth grade teachers will provide experience in the practices of engineering design as they relate to the Next Generation Science Standards. The workshop will be hands-on and will include exploration of the World of Speed’s interactive exhibits. This workshop will offer one continuing education credit.

OWPC is also delighted to partner with Bryan Boyd, Associate Professor of Theatre at George Fox University, to offer Theatre Design Institute: Costume Design. This Design Institute has been offered for a number of years and is geared toward high school teachers and staff, to deepen understanding of costume design for live theatre. The experience will be June 27-30, and will offer hands-on exercises, projects and materials that can be easily taken back to classrooms and theatre programs.